Seasonal Thinking
Happy First Day of Fall! I was able to do a thorough gathering of leaves on Saturday - the first of many to come. Things should be pretty tidied up by Thanksgiving, I figure. Even as we slip into this new season, I was able to enjoy the last throes of summer tomatoes, in sandwich form on bread from 7/10 Bread Company with Nueske’s bacon, a little shredded basil from Birds Haven Farm and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Man do I love that simple food.
The author James Clear was kind enough to speak at the Bryn Du Mansion this past week as a part of Bryn Du’s Life Localspeaking series. Clear is best known for his New York Times best-selling book, Atomic Habits. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. The essence of the book centers around how to make building new habits as easy as possible. Generally this means taking the smallest possible action, rather than piling on a bunch of perfectionist expectations.
For example, if your goal is to become more physically fit, building the habit of going to the gym - even if you don’t have the time or energy to workout. Just building the attendance habit will eventually lead to more consistent exercise.
Clear’s visit was formatted as a bit of a "fireside chat” with Granville’s answer to Garrison Keller, Jeff Gill. They had a wonderful back-and-forth, and then Gill did his best Phil Donahue impression (may he rest in peace), by fielding questions from the audience.
Something that Clear spoke of was the notion of “seasons.” He’s working on a new book, but now has two young children with a third on the way - putting him squarely in the “season of parenting.” As such, he cannot approach the work of this latest project in the same way he invested in the creation of Atomic Habits. This isn’t the season for that kind of sacrifice for him. It doesn’t mean he has to suspend being an author, he just can’t be as productive per unit of time as he was earlier in his career. This current project will take more time to complete, but complete it he will, and I expect it will be very thoughtful, based on seeing him Tuesday night.
My experience has been that the “season of parenting” has many segments - the needs of a newborn are not those of a toddler, teen, etc. Careers have seasons, and sometimes they overlap. In the past 18 months or so, I definitely have entered a new season - one where three separate human beings (two children, one parent) either don’t need me at all, or need me to show up in the world differently than I’ve showed up for them previously.
Clear didn’t say this, but I believe that we should consciously review our habits on a quarterly basis. Consciously thinking about “Starts” and “Stops” four times a year is a good practice. By this, I mean: What should I start doing, and what should I stop doing? If we really want to add habits to our daily/weekly lives, it often means stopping something else. Otherwise, where would the time come from?
Today is the first day of a new season. A good day to reflect on who we need to be as the temperature and the leaves drop, the snow falls, and the holidays approach.
Sunday Supper
This Slow Cooker Asian Braised Beef recipe looks yummy, and pairs well with this recipe for Asian Stir Fried Vegetables. Add some cooked rice, and you’ve got a nice meal. These days rather than make a dessert, I am cutting up some watermelon as a light, sweet finish. If you want to take this idea further, here is a recipe for Watermelon Sorbet.
Sunday Music
This nearly hour-long Jazz House Music Mix is not a bad way to relax on a Sunday. Enjoy!
If you know anyone who might like this essay, please share it with them.
Have a great week ahead! Offer support to others. Make good use of this day. And let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,